This section is intended to provide information relevant to understanding various technologies described herein. As the section's title implies, this is a discussion of related art that should in no way imply that it is prior art. Generally, related art may or may not be considered prior art. It should therefore be understood that any statement in this section should be read in this light, and not as any admission of prior art.
Generally, multiple patterning (or multi-patterning, such as double-patterning) may refer to a class of technologies for manufacturing integrated circuits (ICs) that were developed for photolithography to enhance feature density of circuit components. Multiple patterning was developed based on the premise that a single lithographic exposure may not be enough to provide sufficient resolution. Hence, additional exposures were needed, because positioning patterns using etched feature sidewalls (e.g., using spacers) would otherwise be necessary. Although EUVL (i.e., Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography) has been projected to be a next-generation lithography of choice, EUVL may still require more than one lithographic exposure, due to an foreseen need to first print a series of lines and then cut them. Therefore, it is thus considered likely that more than one cut would be needed, even for EUVL. Further, even for electron beam lithography (i.e., e-beam lithography), single exposure may also be insufficient, hence also requiring double patterning. Thus, there exists a need to improve lithography techniques to enhance feature density of circuit components when manufacturing integrated circuits (ICs).